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Aircraft of the Royal Alternative Air Force Since 1918
Armstrong-Whitworth Manta The Manta was a radical design by any standards. The product of a marriage of 1940s British experimentation with flying wings (eg, the Handley-Page Manx, General Aircraft G.A.L. 56 and Armstrong Whitworth A.W. 52), plus captured Horten Ho229s and associated aerodynamic research at the end of the war, development was afforded priority as fears grew of new Soviet weapons developed from captured German technology, and ultimately tensions that would culminate in the Berlin Airlift. Manta PR.1s first entered RAF service in late 1949. The NF.2 meanwhile was seen as an advanced night fighter project, offering significant performance advantages over the Gloster Meteor then in service. It provided an alternative to the Meteor night fighters under development, and to the private venture De Havilland 113 Vampire night fighter (provisionally referred to as the NF.10).The first of 78 Mantas entered service in late 1951, with 25 Sqn at RAF West Malling. 23 Sqn (Coltishall) and 151 Sqn (Leuchars) were also eventually equipped. Sadly, the type was not a major success. As with the Northrop XB-35 and YB-49, aerodynamically the concept was too advanced for the technology of the day. Although blessed with an exceptional rate of climb, the Manta was a relatively unstable gun platform and from an engineering perspective proved difficult to maintain. Ironically, the remaining UK-based Mosquito night fighters were replaced by Armstrong Whitworth’s night fighter development of the Meteor, the very aircraft the Manta was intended to provide a quantum leap over performance-wise. In its NF.14 guise the Meteor began replacing the Manta in 1955, and was in turn replaced by the Gloster Javelin FAW.1 in home-based Fighter Command units. de Havilland Viper Based on the successful Vampire and Venom series, and drawing on de Havilland’s experience with the DH108 transonic research aircraft, the Viper saw only limited service with the RAF; in fact it was the only user of the type, some 60 examples being used by 8 and 19 Squadrons as point defence fighters in Germany. Destined to be only the second-ever tailless swept-wing fighter to see operational service (the first being the Me163), the type suffered instability problems throughout its short service life. To remedy this in the field, dummy Firestreak missiles were carried at all times by the F.2 (the F.1 was only cannon-equipped). In spite of its shortcomings, the Viper broke new ground in being the RAF’s first single-seat, radar-equipped interceptor and help ready that Service for the later English Electric Lightning. Failsworth Firecracker As the USA had developed the RQ-4 Global Hawk, so the UK developed the broadly similar Firecracker DRA.1. Smaller than the Global Hawk, the Firecracker was larger than the similar ‘Predator C’/Avenger. Having gained essential UAV experience with RQ-1 Predators and MQ-9 Reapers in Afghanistan, the RAF wanted something more capable to bridge the gap between those types and the BAE Systems Taranis UCAV that was planned to enter service in 2017 as the unmanned element of the RAF’s Future Offensive Aircraft Capability. However, strains on the British defence budget, plus contractural obligations to the multi-national Typhoon fighter and the Joint Combat Aircraft/F-35 Lightning II projects led to the Taranis being relegated to technology demonstrator status and Tranche 3 Typhoons being built mostly as two-seaters to replace the Tornado GR.4. The JCA (aka Lightning FGA.1) entered service as planned, and thus by 2020 the RAF would be operating just two manned fast jet types. The unmanned capability was not ignored, however, and using much of the technology developed for Taranis, the Firecracker (built by BAE Systems subsidiary, Failsworth Aerospace) came to be. Built to a lower specification than the Taranis, and intended to fulfil a less demanding role (ie similar to that of the Reaper), the Firecracker was considerably less expensive. Eschewing a turboprop for a turbofan, the Firecracker’s speed was greater than the Reaper’s. Range was greater, but less than Global Hawk’s (leading to the type being nicknamed ‘Regional Pigeon’ by the RAF). A variety of sensors and weaponry could be carried.36 Firecrackers were built, these serving with the joint RAF/Royal Navy 360 Sqn in the UK (which also had the type training role), 6 Sqn RAF in Cyprus, and 1417 Flight RAF in the Falkland Islands.